Month: March 2022

WAI 2022: Enriching, encouraging and enlightening

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A Lufthansa ERJ-190 pilot who previously flew the 737 and the legendary Queen of the Skies, the 747.

A former flight attendant who is now pursuing her pilot’s license and intends to fly helicopters with law enforcement.

An author who fought to ensure her grandmother — and other members of the WASP — received equal recognition at Arlington National Cemetery.

A U.S. Navy pilot who flies the SH-60 Seahawk — the naval version of the Army UH-60 Black Hawk.

A former U.S. Air Force Thunderbird pilot and the first woman to fly the T-7 Red Hawk.

Me and Caroline “Blaze” Jensen. She used to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team, and last year became the first woman to fly the Boeing T-7 Red Hawk trainer. I attended a virtual session with her a few months back as part of a leadership program I’m in at Boeing, and jumped at the chance to meet her.

These are just a few of the incredibly smart, kind and inspiring women I met at this year’s International Women in Aviation Conference — and that doesn’t even touch on the dozens of industry colleagues I mixed and mingled with at the Exhibit Hall, which featured more than 100 exhibitors including airlines, manufacturers, military branches, schools and more.

Over the course of three days, I attended a number of leadership and educational seminars. All of them were so enlightening, but very different in terms of content and tone. One of them was on flight test, and another was on resiliency. One featured a former astronaut and two U.S. Space Force guardians, and another talked about the early (and I mean early!) history of women in aviation, including balloonists in the 1800s.

During the conference’s opening general session, there were some very, very powerful speakers, including Niloofar Rahmani, the first female fixed-wing pilot for the Afghan Air Force. With the support of her parents, Rahmani went against all odds to follow her dream of flying in war-torn Afghanistan. But after receiving death threats from the Taliban — not just against her, but against her family — Rahmani moved to the United States where she was granted political asylum. She has since learned to fly the C-130. Also during that session, we all stood for the Ukrainian National Anthem. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was misty-eyed.

I feel very fortunate to work in this industry. While it’s unthinkably large, it feels so very small. As a lifelong introvert, aviation has helped me to break out of my shell over the course of the last several years. It’s equally as comforting as it is exhilarating to be in a room full of people who you know share your passion. And it makes it that much easier to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, because you know within a few seconds they won’t feel so “strange.”

I’m grateful to have been able to attend this year’s conference in Nashville, Tennessee, and look forward to sustaining these new friendships and putting into practice the many lessons I learned.

Goodbye, Mriya

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The Antonov An-225 departing MSP International Airport on July 2, 2014. (Chris Lundberg photo)

Every story has an aviation angle.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is no different.

At the break of dawn on Feb. 23, Russian troops moved into Ukraine and launched a series of missile attacks near Kyiv and Kharkiv — the country’s largest and second-largest cities, respectively. By lunch time, roughly 40 soldiers and 10 civilians had been killed. To date, at least 16 children have died.

In a situation unfathomable to many of us, Ukrainian citizens are taking up arms, mixing Molotov cocktails, and building defensive walls — they’re fighting for their lives, risking everything for the precious country they call home.

Families are being separated as men of fighting age are forced to stay, while wives and children flee to Poland and other neighboring countries.

Western countries are imposing sanctions left and right in an effort to cripple Russia’s economy — banning transactions with Russia’s central bank, closing their airspace to Russian planes, and suspending Russian athletes and sports teams from major competitions, to name a few.

On Feb. 24, rumors started circulating that the massive record-setting An-225 Mriya — a one-of-a-kind strategic airlift cargo plane built by Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing company Antonov — had been destroyed in a Russian attack on Antonov Airport in Hostomel, a northwestern suburb of Kyiv. 

The rumors were quickly put to rest when that same day An-225 chief pilot Dmitro Antonov posted on Facebook that the aircraft was intact. However, three days later, the Ukrainian Government confirmed on Twitter that the airplane had in fact been destroyed.

“Mriya” means “Dream” in Ukrainian.

The increasing violence in Ukraine — Eastern Europe’s second-largest country — is terrifying, disheartening and upsetting. For Av Geeks in particular, however, the destruction of the An-225 really struck a chord.

Unsurprisingly, Ukraine has committed to rebuilding the iconic airplane, adding, “We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free and democratic Ukraine.” I have no doubt that after this nightmare is over, the country and its driven, devoted and inspiring people will emerge stronger than ever.

As many of you know, my roots are in Minneapolis, and in the summer of 2014, the An-225 made a visit to MSP International Airport where it attracted thousands of spectators. Sadly, I wasn’t one of them — it would be a couple years before I got into aviation. On the eve of its departure out of MSP, I was just relaxing in our 18th floor apartment downtown. I heard a massive roar, unlike anything I had heard before. My husband Scott and I raced to the window and saw this gigantic blue and yellow airplane fly low and slow right over head.

I am grateful to have since met so many outstanding aviation photographers, including the wildly talented Chris Lundberg (@airandskyspotter) who graciously granted me permission to use his stunning photo for this post.

To everyone in Ukraine: We stand with you.

Peace.